Computer hacking cases are multiplying, but what can you do when you are even the victim of a scam on the net, can you be compensated? The details of Philippe Duport, specialist in employment, labor law and daily life.
franceinfo: Are these situations recognized by French law?
Philippe Duport: Yes, absolutely, criminal law has taken hold of the new fraudulent practices that are flourishing on the net. Phishing, for example, is the practice of “baiting” someone who is sent a clickable link, pretending to be a trustworthy entity or company in order to obtain confidential information, he is punished by five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.
Identity theft is also the subject of a criminal article. One year in prison and 15,000 euros fine. The fraudulent collection of personal data is even more heavily sanctioned: 300,000 euros fine and one year in prison.
What should you do when you are the victim of such scams?
File a complaint immediately. Without it, there will be no investigation, no conviction, no insurance coverage. The complaint must include all money transfer references, lists of people contacted, anything that will allow investigators to identify the perpetrators.
What can we expect from such a complaint?
The principle is that of full reparation. If you are a business and the fraud caused you to lose a customer or brought you into bankruptcy, the entire damage will be repaired. And then there is moral damage. If personal data has been published on social networks, you can expect, according to Etienne Deshoulières, a lawyer specializing in computer law, between 3000 and 5000 euros in damages.
If your privacy has been destroyed, for example because your sexual orientation has been revealed without your knowledge, intimate photos have been published, it can go up to 50,000 euros. It can go even higher, if it results in severe depression.
What if sums of money were taken from you, if purchases were made without your knowledge?
So it’s the bank that got scammed, and it’s up to it to turn against the perpetrator. As far as you are concerned, it must reimburse you in full for the sums unduly deducted.
What if, in a hacked company, the fault lies with an employee who lacked vigilance?
The sanction must be proportionate. But if the employee has committed a fault, by revealing identifiers or codes, then he may be sanctioned, and why not dismissed.